Computex 2008 – The Roundup

As mentioned in my ASUS article, Computex is easily one of the coolest technology conferences in the world to attend, as many of the companies we deal with on a daily basis are actually HQ’d there. When we go straight to the source, we can see some of the coolest stuff the market currently offers, or at least will offer soon.

You might wonder why there was a delay in such a roundup, and the answer is simple… I spent a few days touring Taiwan after the show, and was not near a computer for more than five minutes per day. Luckily, despite Computex having have happened well over a week ago, the products seen here as still just as cool, so let’s get to it.

OCZ Technology Group

Not two years ago, visiting OCZ at any trade event would have meant a few products here and there, but since acquiring both PC Power & Cooling and Hypersonic, their portfolio increased dramatically.

First up were a few new power supplies, but I am not going to pretend for a minute to know what to look for inside to understand the value and quality. One interesting feature was found on the 1200W model, however.

On the back are voltage dials, allowing you to alter the voltage during use on each of the four main rails. What this accomplishes, I’m unsure, but die hard PSU enthusiasts probably will not shun the feature.

Sadly, the acrylic bodies are just for show… and it’s really too bad that it’s not too safe to employ it on a final product, because it looks fantastic.

OCZ got their start in memory, and that’s still their main focus today, so it was no surprise to see some new models on display. Their Flex series recently received an overhaul with the ability to effectively watercool them regardless of your setup. Adapters are included in case you are using tubes that are too large.

There was also some Fatal1ty-branded modules on the table. Who hasn’t released branded product for this gamer guru?

Because so many geeks double as extreme athletes, OCZ has come up with the Fortress. Judging by the picture, it’s an appropriate name, since it’s unlikely that dropping one from a plane would hurt the data too much.

For the life of me I cannot recall the name of this cooler, but I was told it’s a very effective design that shaves a few degrees Celsius off any of their current offerings, when paired with an appropriate fan, I’m assuming.

Also shown were two keyboards, which is a step that OCZ was only bound to take at some point in time, so it may as well be now. The keyboards are designed to be affordable, so don’t expect huge price tags that some other higher-end keyboards are retailing for. I didn’t get to spend much time with these, but so far, so good.

If it’s not available already, OCZ will soon be shipping the Neural Impulse Actuator, which you’ve no doubt been reading about for quite some time. After strapping it around your head and running the quick configurator, you will be able to control most aspects of your games using only your mind. Sure, sounds gimmicky, but after giving it a ten-minute run, I was actually quite impressed.

It works by reading the pressure from your face/head and interpreting the signals to commands that a computer game can understand. Each time you play, you will need to run the calibrator for the most accurate control, and when done, you’ll be able to configure certain aspects to your liking.

While playing, biting down lightly moved me forward, while biting down a bit harder made me fire. To rotate my gun, I still had to rely on the mouse, so you can’t expect to play a game entirely with the device (and that’s to be expected).

Given the suggested retail price, which should be well under $200, it might not appeal to everyone, but it’s a great peripheral to toy around with if you want to increase the fun-factor of your game, or are straight-out just dying for something new to try.

Announced just a few weeks ago, OCZ had their DIY notebook on display. This 15.4" offering is designed to target mid-range users… not those who crave bleeding-edge performance. Included with be a 9600 GT, but you can choose your own CPU, memory and hard drive. OCZ will have a compatibility list on their site to let purchasers know what will and what won’t work with their new notebook.

This first model won’t be the last, either. Two other models were on display, but were not able to be shown here. Both utilize OCZ’s own designs, so they should look unlike anything else out there.